Current:Home > FinanceFirst tropical storm warning of hurricane season issued as coastal Texas braces for possible flooding-LoTradeCoin
First tropical storm warning of hurricane season issued as coastal Texas braces for possible flooding
View Date:2024-12-24 10:05:37
The first tropical storm warning of this year's hurricane season was issued early Tuesday, as coastal communities in southern Texas prepare for an oncoming bout of heavy rain and possible flooding. The storm was developing over the southern Gulf of Mexico and expected to reach land as a potential tropical cyclone, according to the National Hurricane Center.
If the storm becomes strong enough it will become the first named storm of the season: Tropical Storm Alberto.
The tropical storm warning covers coastal Texas areas from Port O'Connor to the mouth of the Rio Grande and extends downward along the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Rainfall linked to the potential tropical cyclone was expected to affect large parts of Central America, too.
Although a map released by the National Hurricane Center showed the storm system striking coastal areas just after midnight on Thursday, meteorologists noted that the impacts would likely be felt on land sooner than that. The latest forecasts indicated that the system was already packing maximum sustained winds near 40 miles per hour, which would likely increase in strength over the next 36 hours.
"The disturbance is very large with rainfall, coastal flooding, and wind impacts likely to occur far from the center along the coasts of Texas and northeastern Mexico," the hurricane center said in a Tuesday advisory. Meteorologists noted that tropical storm force winds extended up to 290 miles outward from the core of the disturbance.
In Texas, the hurricane center said moderate coastal flooding could begin along the coast as soon as Tuesday morning and continue through the middle of the week. The situation was forecast to worsen on Wednesday for people in the tropical storm warning area.
The National Hurricane Center upgraded what had been the current season's first tropical storm watch to a tropical storm warning at 4 a.m. CT on Tuesday. Three hours later, the government of Mexico issued a tropical storm warning for the parts of the country's northeastern coast, south of the mouth of the Rio Grande to Puerto de Altamira, replacing the tropical storm watch previously effected there. The difference accounts for timing — forecasters will generally issue a "watch" when tropical storm conditions are possible in the impacted area within roughly 48 hours, and a "warning" when the conditions become more imminent, about 36 hours out.
This week's potential storm was tracking north over the Gulf on Tuesday morning and forecast to turn west and west-northwest toward land overnight and into Wednesday, before approaching the western Gulf on Wednesday night, the hurricane center said. Places across northeastern Mexico and southern Texas could see between 5 and 10 inches of rainfall, although forecasters noted that inundation could be more severe in some areas.
"The combination of dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline," reads a Tuesday advisory from the hurricane center issued at 7 a.m. CT.
If peak storm surge tied to the potential storm occurs in tandem with high tide, forecasts suggested that water levels could rise as much as 4 feet along stretches of the Gulf Coast in Texas and Mexico. The deepest water was forecast for areas along the immediate coast near the potential landfall location and north of it, where a storm surge will likely be joined by large and dangerous waves, the hurricane center said.
The annual Atlantic Hurricane Season officially began on June 1 and will run through the end of November, with most storm activity typically happening during the later months of that window, between mid-August and mid-October. The terms hurricane and tropical cyclone can refer to the same kind of storm, with meteorologists using tropical cyclone as a broad classification that includes any weather phenomenon where rotating, low-level cloud systems and thunderstorms develop over tropical or subtropical waters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A tropical cyclone is categorized more specifically as a tropical storm once its maximum wind speeds exceed 39 mph. When sustained winds jump to 74 mph or higher, it becomes a hurricane.
- In:
- Weather Forecast
- Tropical Storm
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (2214)
Related
- Lee Zeldin, Trump’s EPA Pick, Brings a Moderate Face to a Radical Game Plan
- Alabama high school football player died from a heart condition, autopsy finds
- Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie pledges to make San Francisco safer as mayor
- 1 monkey recovered safely, 42 others remain on the run from South Carolina lab
- Maine dams face an uncertain future
- Democratic US Sen. Jacky Rosen is reelected in Nevada, securing battleground seat
- Dua Lipa Cancels Concert Due to Safety Concerns
- Years of shortchanging elections led to Honolulu’s long voter lines
- Missouri prosecutor says he won’t charge Nelly after an August drug arrest
- Parked vehicle with gas cylinders explodes on NYC street, damaging homes and cars, officials say
Ranking
- DWTS’ Sasha Farber and Jenn Tran Prove They're Closer Than Ever Amid Romance Rumors
- US agency says Tesla’s public statements imply that its vehicles can drive themselves. They can’t
- California Gov. Newsom fined over delays in reporting charitable donations
- Wicked Star Ethan Slater Shares Similarities He Has With His Character Boq
- 32-year-old Maryland woman dies after golf cart accident
- How To Score the Viral Quilted Carryall Bag for Just $18
- Kirk Herbstreit's late dog Ben gets emotional tribute on 'College GameDay,' Herbstreit cries on set
- Watch as Rockefeller Christmas tree begins journey to NYC: Here's where it's coming from
Recommendation
-
Why Suits' Gabriel Macht Needed Time Away From Harvey Specter After Finale
-
Taylor Swift's ‘Eras Tour’ concert film snubbed in 2025 Grammy Award nominations
-
Yellowstone Cast Reveals “Challenging” Series End Without Kevin Costner
-
Taylor Swift's ‘Eras Tour’ concert film snubbed in 2025 Grammy Award nominations
-
Former Disney Star Skai Jackson Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Her Boyfriend
-
How long do betta fish live? Proper care can impact their lifespan
-
Republican US Rep. Eli Crane wins second term in vast Arizona congressional district
-
'My husband was dying right in front of me': Groom suffers brain injury in honeymoon fall